Rimington's Guides (also known as Rimington's Tigers or Rimington's Corps of Guides and then later as Damant's Horse) were a unit of light horse in the

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

active in the

Second Boer War The Second Boer War (, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, Transvaal War, Anglo–Boer War, or South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer republics (the South African Republic and ...

Background

They were led by Major M. F. (Mike) Rimington, later Brevet Colonel Rimington CB. He also led a column in the later stages of the war. It was formed in the Cape Colony in 1899 with 150 men. The Rimington's Guides also had the name Rimington's Tigers due to the leopard skin hatbands worn on their slouch hats. Rimington gave his Corps of Guides the nickname "catch-'em-alive-o's while other forces gave him the nickname "The Night Cats" because of their night marches and stealth like movement. Rimington left the Guides in January 1901. The force was reorganised as Damant's Horse under Major Frederic Damant, Rimington's second-in-command, though they were often known by his name through the remainder of the war.

Composition

The unit was recruited from English speaking South Africans. Every man in Rimington's Corps of Guides was obliged to speak

Afrikaans Afrikaans is a West Germanic languages, West Germanic language spoken in South Africa, Namibia and to a lesser extent Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe and also Argentina where there is a group in Sarmiento, Chubut, Sarmiento that speaks the Pat ...

and at least one of the indigenous African languages, with many speaking both. They were armed with carbines and pistols, riding light ahead of the main army.

Notable Unit Members

* Corporal John James Clements. Rimington Guides. South African-born recipient of the VC. * Lieutenant-Colonel Hon. George Henry Morris, (16 July 1872 – 1 September 1914) the first commanding officer to lead an Irish Guards

battalion A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of up to one thousand soldiers. A battalion is commanded by a lieutenant colonel and subdivided into several Company (military unit), companies, each typically commanded by a Major (rank), ...

into battle. He was killed in action during the Retreat from Mons when the 4th (Guards) Brigade formed a rear-guard for the 2nd Division in the

Forest of Retz The Forest of Retz (French ''Forêt de Retz'', ) is one of the largest :forests of France, forests of France, covering some 13,000 hectares in the Aisne about 80 km northeast of Paris. It is a National forest (France), national forest (''f ...

near Villers-Cotterêts, France. * Sergeant Norman Frederick Hastings, later Major Hastings DSO, mid, Légion d'honneur,

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

Officer Commanding the 6th (Manawatu) Squadron, Wellington Mounted Rifles Regiment who died of wounds after the attack on Chunuk Bair, Gallipoli in August 1915. * Sergeant Arthur Owen Vaughan

References

{{Authority control Military units and formations of the Second Boer War Military units and formations of the British Empire